Turning a Blog Into a Webpage: RSVP, Guestbook, Playlist, etc.

I said earlier that by turning off the comments, you were eliminating the option to have a guestbook, or to set up online RSVPs.  But I was reminded by Morgan that I could probably use Google Docs to set these up.  So I decided to play around with it, and I came up with something I like.

If you already have a Google account, all you have to do is sign in to Google Docs to get started.  If you don't, signing up is simple and free.
At the top of the screen you'll see the option to "Create New." 

For a Guestbook, RSVP, or Playlist Request, choose the "Form" option.
I'll take you through the steps of setting up an RSVP form.
A new window will open up.

Now you just need to fill it out to your specifications.  Give the form a title; this will show up in the form.  Then go about setting the questions you want.  The first I did was "First and Last Name."

Make sure you click the little box to make it a required question.  From the "Question Type" pulldown, I chose to use Paragraph Text so they could list all of the names at once.

Now finish filling out your questions.

Anything you type into the "Help Text" box will show up in a lighter gray under the question to clarify.  As you can see, there are a few different options for Question Type.  I made use of the paragraph text, text, and check boxes.  At the top you can click on the Theme drop down and choose a background for your form.

As soon as you have everything filled in, click save at the top.  Then click on "More Options" and choose "Embed."

A window will pop up with a link.  All you have to do is copy, and paste it into a post.  Keep in mind that if you add this to your website after you've altered the HTML to make the left hand links, you'll have to go back in and add it.  The order that you place it in the HTML will determine where it shows up on your webpage.
Check out my "fake website" to see what it looks like.

Anything that people submit in this form will show up on your Google Docs homepage.  It makes a spreadsheet for each form with all of the responses.

You can do this similarly for a guestbook, or as a Playlist Request.  You can see both of these options on the website as well.